2 Samuel chapter 7. This is our last sermon on this passage. And then we're going to also read from Luke 1. 2 Samuel 7, beginning at verse 1. Now it came to pass, when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains. Then Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David. Thus says the Lord, Would you build a house for me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel saying why have you not built me a house of cedar now therefore thus shall you say to my servant David thus says the Lord of hosts I took you from the sheepfold from following the sheep to be ruler over my people over Israel And I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you and have made you a great name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people, Israel, and we'll plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore as previously. since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that he will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and he said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me this far? And over at Luke chapter one, beginning to read at verse 26. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the highest. and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end. Then Mary said to the angel, how can this be since I do not know a man? And the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit who will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore also that Holy One who was to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is now the sixth month for her who was barren. For with God, nothing will be impossible. And Mary said, Behold, the maidservant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. Father, we thank you for your word. It is our desire all the days of our lives to tremble before your word. to be transformed by your word and we pray that you would indeed sanctify us and cause your word to triumph in us we pray this in jesus name amen well two weeks ago we looked at the covenant that god made with david in the first half of second samuel chapter seven and then last week we looked at david's response of worship and praise and awe and wonder at all that god had promised And today I've got two goals really. The first goal is to pick up some of the loose ends that we weren't fully able to develop in the last two weeks and look at how Luke interprets 2 Samuel chapter 7. And the second goal that I have is to give us some time after each of the three points of this sermon to do exactly like David did and to express our adoration and of our worship and awe of the Lord God. It's sad, I think, when we lose the wonder and the awe at the incarnation. when we become so accustomed to the infinitely high and exalted God becoming one with us that it no longer causes our hearts to well up like it did with David. When you read Luke 1, or for that matter, when you read Hebrews 1 and other passages, it's almost as if those authors are seeking to restore a sense of awe and wonder in God's people. And we have not adequately dealt with the Davidic covenant if it does not make our hearts want to say, oh, come, let us adore him. And so it's my prayer this morning that God would restore to us a sense of wonder at the incarnation. Now, one of the things that you notice as you read Luke chapters one through two is that there really was amazement and wonder on the part of Zacharias, the angel Gabriel, Mary, Elizabeth, the choirs of angels, of Anna, of Simeon, and I myself get choked up every time I see a baby being born even if it's on a movie. But Luke makes it unmistakably clear there was something entirely different about this birth. Here was a baby that was being born who had no human father. We saw two weeks ago that the virgin birth is logically necessitated by the facts of 2 Samuel chapter 7. And when you first read it, it's like, how would you get that out of it? And there are several New Testament passages and even a couple of the prophets that draw this out. And you look at that, okay, how would you get that out? But the deeper we dig into that, we realize it truly is logically necessitated that Jesus would be born of a virgin. Now what was implied there is explicit here. Mary is said to be a virgin. So though this child was a son of Mary and was a son of David, he did not have an immediate human father. Luke 1, and we're going to be spending most of our time in Luke chapter 1, but verses 34 through 35, When Mary said to the angel, how can this be since I do not know a man? And the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the highest will overshadow you. Therefore also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. So this speaks of the unique sonship of Jesus. He is not a son like we are sons and daughters. He was not adopted into God's family. He was the only begotten Son of God and He was incarnated here. and declared to be the son Hebrews 1 5 says for to which of the angels did he ever say you are my son today I have begotten you and again I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son now he's quoting from 2nd Samuel 7 verse 14 there and saying that this verse was describing not Solomon, but it's describing the unique sonship of Jesus with regard to God the Father. Micah 5 verse 2 gives the mystery that the coming Messiah would both descend from the house of David. Well, that means He's going to be a human. But then it immediately goes on to say that He has never had a beginning. His origins have been from eternity past. It says, But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. He is divine. And he never stopped being divine when he was conceived in the womb of Mary. There's a heresy out there called the kenosis theory that says when he became incarnated, he gave up all of his attributes. He's no longer omnipresent. He's no longer omniscient. Well, he'd cease to be God. It's a ridiculous notion, really, when you think about it. He did not give up any divine attributes. In John 3 verse 13, Jesus said that even though He came down from heaven and He was on the earth, He was still presently in heaven. That means He was still presently omnipresent as to His divinity. The gospel of John repeatedly said that Jesus knew all things while He was here on earth, at least as to His divine nature. Now there were some things as to His humanity He did not know. We have to distinguish there. And Hebrews 1.6 says that all the angels of heaven worshiped Jesus when He was born. That indicates he was God. You only worship God. You do not worship a creature. Hebrews 1.3 speaks of Christ's omnipotence prior to his death. It says, who being the brightness of His, that's the Father's glory, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. So the grammar indicates very clearly that before Jesus ascended and before he died, while he was here on earth, he was upholding all things by the word of his power. Well, this means we've got the remarkable situation that while Mary is holding that tiny little baby, nursing that little baby, the son was upholding her. Every atom of her body was being upheld by the word of His power. He was caring for her. That does not blow your mind. I doubt there's very much that's going to blow your mind. I mean, it's just an amazing, amazing concept. This is the mystery of our salvation. The God, the Son, who had no beginning, took a human nature to himself in the womb of Mary. And therefore when the early creeds called Mary Theotokos, which some translate as God-bearer and others translate as Mother of God, they're absolutely right. Now we get nervous about that because of all the Mariolatry that that goes on. Their intent was not in any way to elevate her in a way that there's going to be mariolatry or worship of Mary. That was a perversion that developed much, much later. Not at all. They were trying to communicate the amazing fact that even in the womb Jesus was a divine person. even in the womb. And by the way, the Council of Chalcedon, I think, is so clear in the way that they phrase that, that she's not the mother of God as to His divinity. Here's how they word it. It says, born of Mary, the virgin mother of God, according to the manhood. Okay? Mother of God, Jesus is God, right? She's the mother of Jesus, so she's the mother of God, because the whole person, anything of either nature can be said to the person. So the mother of God, according to the manhood. His deity never ceased. That's their point, okay? And the divinity was prophesied in 2 Samuel 7. But Jesus did not have two personalities. He was one person in two natures. And one of those natures was a human nature, and his humanity was not an illusion. As a baby, he no doubt messed his diapers and had to be cleaned and had to be cared for. By Mary, he was fully human. Genesis 3.15 says that the coming Messiah would be of the seed of the woman. In other words, he'd be connected to humanity. In Genesis 22.18, and says it would be the seed of Abraham. Genesis 28, 14 says it would be the seed of Jacob. 2 Samuel 12 says he would be the seed of David. That means that Jesus inherited genetic code from Adam and Eve, from Abraham, from Isaac, from Jacob, from Judah, from David, okay? So even though he is fully God, He is also fully man, and if we emphasize his deity so much that we neglect his humanity, we destroy the message of salvation. The only way he could be a mediator, a savior for us, is if he represents both God and man by being God and by being fully man. And so the Gospels record that Jesus hungered. He thirsted. He became so bone-weary tired after a long day of ministry that he was fast asleep and the prow of the boat and the waves were washing over the boat. He was probably getting drenched. And he didn't wake up until his disciples shook him awake. He was human. He had weaknesses. He felt pain. He was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin. And so it's no mystery to me that there was awe and wonder on the part of so many actors in Luke 1 through 2 when they realized what was going on, that human and divine are wrapped up in this little baby. And it should bring wonder to you as well. I won't repeat what I said two weeks ago, at least not very much about it, concerning the virgin birth. But it's nothing short of astounding that the legal right to the throne would be inherited by the Messiah through Solomon, and yet the biological right to the throne would come through Nathan, Solomon's brother. And people in the Old Testament were probably a little bit puzzled by that. How do you get both of those? And it's only hinted at in 2 Samuel 7, but by the time of Jeremiah, they knew that the coming Messiah could not be the biological son of Solomon or of Jeconiah. Yet he would inherit the throne through both, through Solomon and through Jeconiah. Now of course we saw that Mary traced her lineage through Nathan to David. So through Mary he is the seed of David. But Joseph traces his lineage through Solomon to David. and nowhere in the biblical record is Jesus said to be the seed of Solomon. And in 2 Samuel 7 it's very clear He's going to inherit the throne of Solomon but He's only the seed of David. He is not the seed of Solomon. So Joseph adopted Jesus legally as a son and therefore gave the legal right to the throne because he is a descendant of Solomon. But Mary's line gave Jesus the biological right to the throne. So again this points to the amazing fact that Jesus had to be born of a virgin and have no biological father. But there's one more facet of Christ's sonship that we did not adequately address two weeks ago other than a brief mention. And that is that 2 Corinthians quotes 2 Samuel chapter 7 in a way that we would not expect. It quotes it and indicates that because of our union with Jesus, the church is the body of Christ and can be treated as if it is Christ. It can be addressed as Christ. It's the body of Christ. And therefore, 2 Samuel 7 can apply to us, and Paul uses it to prove that you and I are sons and daughters of God. And thus in a secondary way because of our union with the only begotten Son of God, we are adopted as sons and daughters and therefore in a secondary way 2 Samuel chapter 7 can apply to Solomon. Why can it apply to Solomon? Because Solomon was a believer who was united to Jesus. Now think about it this way. Galatians says that when God made a promise to the seed of Abraham, He was making that promise to the seed singular, to Jesus. And it's only as we are in Jesus that we can inherit any promise that we become the seed of Abraham. Other than Mary Ann, I don't think any of us are the seed of Abraham. And yet scripture indicates Jesus, he was the seed. And if we're united to Jesus, we could be treated as the seed. And even Marianne only inherits the promises because she, by faith, is united to Christ, who is the seed. Here's how 2 Corinthians 1.20 words it. for all the promises of God, in Him are yes, and in Him, amen, to the glory of God through us. So that means, okay, even though Mary Ann can claim to be a descendant of Abraham, it's only by faith and union with Jesus that she inherits the promises that are made to the seed. Okay, all of us get it in that same way. And it's really remarkable, of every promise made in scripture, is a promise to Jesus. We enter into those promises by being united to Jesus, our Mediator. And when we became believers, our old identity died forever, okay? And we have a new identity through Christ. And by being bound to Jesus, we are forever bound in fellowship with God the Father because Jesus is forever bound in fellowship with God the Father. And if you meditate on the unique sonship of Jesus, as promised in 2 Samuel 7, it really ought to cause your hearts to well up in awe and wonder and admiration. And I want to spend a moment responding to God's promises just like David did. So let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, with David we stand in awe that any of us can be called sons and daughters of you, that we can call you Father. We stand in awe at the incarnation that the infinitely exalted son would humble himself to become a baby and inhabit a womb. We stand in awe that the one who was upholding all things by the word of his power would allow Mary to hold him and nurse him. Oh, the wonder of our adoption as sons and daughters. We are amazed that you would so unite us to your son that you could promise that we would forever be your children. Father, help us to never lose the wonder of the incarnation and of Christ's unique sonship. We worship you and we ask that you would fulfill the Davidic covenant in our lives by being our Father forever and helping us to experience the reality of what Romans talks about as your Holy Spirit cries out from within us, Abba, Father. You have commanded us to taste and see that you are good. And we've gotten a tiny taste of your goodness this morning. And we bless you and we praise you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. So the first central theme of the Davidic covenant is sonship. Second central theme of 2 Samuel chapter 7 is deliverance or salvation from enemies. Now when you're reading that chapter you might interpret that initially that it's just talking about David and the kings who would descend from him protecting Israel from the attacks of the surrounding nations. And in a secondary way that is involved that is involved because of those kings being united to Christ. But the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament say that this deliverance or this salvation that was promised to David was uniquely provided by Jesus. And Luke 1 verse 31, the name Jesus means Yahweh saves. He identifies Himself, His very being, His very name with this central theme of salvation. He says, that's who I am. Yahweh saves. And when Hebrews 1 quotes 2 Samuel 7, it's clear that Jesus is Himself Yahweh. Though there are three persons in the Godhead, there are not three gods, there are not three saviors, there are not three lords. Ephesians 4.5 says there is only one Lord. Acts 4 says that there is only one Savior. 1 Timothy 2.5 says that there is only one God. And so this one God so identifies Himself with us, He's willing to call Himself by the name Yahweh saves. And what does He save us from? Well, Luke 121 says, When she shall bring forth a son, you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Every time you pray in the name of Jesus, the only reason you can pray to God the Father is because God the Son took upon himself our sins and suffered the wrath of God the Father which he had never experienced before. He'd only known the love of the Father. He experienced that wrath and he did so so that we could be saved from our sins. That means when we cling onto our sins like some prized ribbon that we have pulled out of the sewer, we are dishonoring the name of Jesus. That name is precious. That precious name is precious because God's purpose was to save us from the tyranny of sin, the power of sin, the dominion of sin, the curse of sin, and eventually from the very presence of sin for all eternity. He did not die to make us comfortable in our sins. And it's so important that we remember that. and this salvation was promised to be a forever salvation that word forever occurs eight times in second samuel chapter seven it speaks of security that means we don't have to worry that ten thousand years from now we'll blow it and commit a sin and get kicked out of heaven get kicked into hell no it's a forever salvation that god has promised and um It's such a wonderful salvation. It makes all of the typological salvations in the Old Testament pale and insignificant, seem like nothing. They are shadows of the real thing. But that does not mean that the incarnation of Jesus only dealt with salvation from sin. It also dealt with the curse of sin on every facet of creation. I love the hymn, Joy to the World. In fact, a number of the hymns we've talked about, you know, they talk about kingdom and covenant theology and eschatology in a marvelous way. But Joy to the World talks about Christ's salvation going far as the curse is found and that's pretty far. It covers everything. The curse affected everything in creation. So it includes salvation from illness, salvation from demonic oppression, salvation from thorns and thistles, even salvation from human enemies. And I wanna read the scriptures I've put into your outline there from Luke 2. And as I read this, I want you to just listen to all the kinds of enemies that we are saved from. Beginning at verse 51. And I said Luke 2, but it's actually Luke 1. He has shown strength with His arm. He has scattered the proud and the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich He has sent away empty. Let's skip up to verse 69. and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David." Now, let me just pause there for a second. When you read through Luke 1 through 2, you're going to see in all of these different speeches such a tight connection between the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, and the Davidic covenant, and for that matter, the New Covenant. You cannot separate them. They build one on top of the other, as I've mentioned two weeks ago. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been since the world began that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant the oath which he swore to our father Abraham to grant us that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear. And I love the take that Randy Alcorn gives on the martyrs in China in his book, Safely Home. In fact, I like the title of the book, Safely Home. We have this tendency to think of people, you know, of salvation as a historical deliverance. And we wonder, you know, when these guys get martyred, why didn't God save them? But he did. When you get killed, by your enemies, you are ushered into the comforting arms of God and all of the wonders and the glories of heaven. And so you have been delivered from those enemies. No longer will they ever be able to afflict you. You have been saved from the hands of your enemies. And so there really isn't any aspect of the Davidic covenant that we do not taste. When we are healed from disease, the New Testament over and over again uses the noun, soteria, salvation, or the verb, sozo, for safe. It's a part of what God accomplished in Christ. When he delivers us from hunger, same word is used. When he delivers us from persecution, same word. When Paul was delivered in that storm, remember there was a shipwreck and he's floating on some pieces of timber and he manages to make it to the island, it uses this word saved, God saved him, salvation. Romans 8 says that eventually the very physical creation which groans and travails with birth pangs Is going to be saved and god's going to make a new heavens and a new earth in which only good dwells So the salvation promised is salvation from sin and from every negative effect of sin We experience some of that right now here on earth Down payments of it and it's progressively growing in history But we will experience all of it in heaven and it was meditating on the the meaning of all that was involved in this salvation that caused one old Puritan to be in his study just clapping his hands and saying he was ready to burst with joy over what God had done. Gypsy Smith said, I have never lost the wonder, but some of us, I think, have. There's an old saying that says familiarity breeds contempt. We get so used to the glories of salvation that we do not give them a second thought. And so like David did, I want us to now stop and express our adoration to God for the wonders of salvation. Let's pray. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we worship you. We worship and praise you that you have saved us. Oh, the wonder of your salvation. Father, you planned it from eternity past, and we bless you. Lord Jesus, you purchased it in your perfect life and in your painful death and in your victorious resurrection, and we bless you. Holy Spirit, you persevere in applying all of redemption to all that it was purchased for. And we bless you and adore you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We stand in awe of the sure mercies of David that you promised would never depart from your Son or from those united to your Son. We stand in awe that though we are all deserving of hellfire, yet by your grace, you have drawn us into a relationship of sons and daughters. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We bless you in the name of Jesus. We are grateful that you have delivered us from the hand of Satan and you can deliver us from all of our other enemies. Thank you in Jesus name. Amen. So the first central theme of the Davidic covenant is what? Sonship. Second central theme is deliverance or salvation from our enemies. And the third central theme is an eternal throne and an eternal kingdom, which will not pass away. Now, some of the verses I've already read from Luke clearly deal with that, but I just want to read two verses, Luke 1, 32 and 33, I think put it rather simply. He will be great, will be called the son of the highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom, there will be no end. Now, two weeks ago, I gave a detailed exposition of a section in Acts chapter two showing that Jesus ascended to the throne of David when he ascended to the right hand of the Father. It's so clear in the text there. He ascended to the throne of David. Now, how could that be? Well, we saw in the Old Testament a passage that calls the throne of David Yahweh's throne. It does the same with the throne of Solomon. That throne, which was the same throne, that throne was a sign of the heavenly throne. Well in the New Testament we find that Yahweh's throne is called the throne of David. You see the sign and the thing signified in heaven have the same name. That's all it's indicating. And so this means that Jesus' kingdom began in the first century. And 1 Corinthians 15 says that Jesus must continue to reign at the right hand of the Father until all enemies are put under His feet. The last enemy, of course, being death, which is conquered just before He comes back to the earth. He's coming in the clouds of heaven. We're caught up to meet Him in the air. That's when death is vanquished. And so the kingdom starts with enemies. And it ends with all enemies being vanquished. And it is a reign that will continue even after heaven and earth are dissolved and a new heavens and a new earth are created. 2 Samuel 7 verse 10, I believe, has its most complete fulfillment after the second coming. And I'll just read that verse quickly. It says, Moreover, I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them any more as previously. And we dealt with that a little bit two weeks ago that Christ went to prepare a place for us. and it'll be a place where there will be no more wicked. But it's important to realize that though Christ's kingdom began at His ascension, it is growing gradually. It's increasing over time. And eventually we are going to be completely saved from the presence of all of our enemies. In eternity, the wickedness will all be cut off. Eight times in 2 Samuel, it's said to be a kingdom that will be forever. And what's the character of this kingdom? Well, it's called a kingdom of righteousness and holiness. Some people treat grace as if it's a license to sin. But grace produces the righteousness that God promised to David. In Luke 1 verse 35, The angel calls this king the Holy One. And then in verses 74 through 75, it says, to grant us that we being delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our lives. That's the kind of kingdom that we have been ushered into. Now, let me read you the central character of Christ's reign of grace from Romans 5, verses 17 and 21. For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one Jesus Christ. So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So he's called us into a kingdom of righteousness and this is why Paul says in Romans 6, 12, therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in its lust. We've been translated into a kingdom of light, into a kingdom of righteousness. But what blows me away on this third point of the kingdom that 2nd Samuel 7 indicates that by virtue of our union with Jesus we are able to reign even in life we are able to reign with him and I want you to turn with me this will be our last scripture Revelation chapter 22 and verses 26 through 27 in context this is Nope, it's not. Oh, Revelation 2. I thought something was wrong there. Revelation 2 verses 26 and 27. And he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations. He shall rule them with a rod of iron. They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels, as I also have received from my Father." So Jesus is saying that just as God the Father gave to Him the right to rule the nations and to judge the nations with this rod of iron, He was going to give to His people that same rod of iron to either bless or to smash those nations. How do we wield what Jesus is wielding? I mean, He's the one that's got that in His right hand. Well, again, it's by union with Christ and by prayer. Now, I mentioned last week that Ephesians 2 says we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. That means right now we are reigning. We are presently seated with Jesus as kings. And the implications for our prayer life are just huge, just huge. Let me read you a short section from the introduction to the first edition of Operation World. And again, if this is a book that you don't have, I'd encourage you to pick it up. There's been a number of editions. But it keeps getting updated because it gives you the statistics on every country. What are the chief obstacles to Christ's kingdom being advanced? What percentage is Christian? And everything you need to pray for every nation of the world. But anyway, in the introduction, He said, in Revelation 5, 1 through 8, 5, there is a magnificent mystery of the opening of the seven seals. Whether their primary application is future, past, or present is not relevant here, but certain principles are of abiding significance and can be applied today. One, only the Lamb could open the seals. All the earth-shaking, awesome forces unleashed on the world are released by the Lord Jesus Christ. He reigns today. He is in the control room of the universe. He is the only ultimate cause. All the sins of man and machinations of Satan ultimately have to enhance the glory and kingdom of our Savior. This is true of our world today, in wars, famines, earthquakes, or the evil that apparently has the ascendancy. All God's actions are just and loving. We have become too enemy conscious and can overdo the spiritual war aspect of intercession. We need to be more God conscious so that we can laugh the laugh of faith knowing that we have power over all the power of the enemy. Luke 10 19. He's already lost control because of Calvary where the Lamb was slain. What confidence and rest of heart this gives us as we face a world in turmoil and in such spiritual need. And I'm just going to pause there for a moment and just bring up a comment that Kathy made to me this past week. Kathy was reading in her devotions, I think it was, about this taxation. He caused all the world to be taxed. This was a massive tyranny. It was an unbiblical tax. It dislocated so many people, caused such havoc in the empire. And yet God used it to make sure that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not in Nazareth. This means empire-wide evil God was using to further His purposes. And in the same way, God is using all of the things that we tend to get so frustrated with nowadays, such as, you know, the fiscal irresponsibility, the fiscal cliff, in order to advance His purposes. Anyway, Patrick Johnson continues. only through the prayers of the saints. Will God's purposes be carried out? Revelation 5.8 and 8.1-5. The seventh seal, the final one, is unusual. Why was there silence in heaven for half an hour? It was not just for dramatic effect or the silence before the storm. It was because God would not act until His people prayed. 19. Once their prayers had risen to the throne, God poured out the fire from the altar upon the earth. 20. The fire of the Spirit comes in answer to prayer. Acts 1-4 and 14, Acts 2-1-8. 21. But so does the fire of judgment. 22. James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans, but in rebuking them, Jesus did not deny that they could. 23. How the Savior longed to kindle that fire. Luke 12 verse 49. We now have that awesome authority as we pray in the spirit. Let us use it. The implications are immense. Do you realize that prayer may have brought about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? This was judgment on a nation that had resisted Christianity and killed those who responded to the gospel message. And it was also redemptive. For never before have Afghans been so exposed and open to the gospel as today. Is it possible that mighty intercessions for China stirred up communism and the cultural revolution to turn an unresponsive nation into one of the most astonishing areas of Christian expansion the world has ever seen? Can it be that the Sahelian famines and the Latin American revolutions may be the means of gospel breakthroughs long prayed for? It is a solemn thing to intercede for the nations of the world. Let us mobilize prayer. We can tip the scales of history. Christians can be the controlling factor in the unfolding drama of today's world. Let us not allow ourselves to be chased around by the enemy, but let us go up at once and take the kingdom of this world for Jesus. Numbers 13.30, Daniel 7.18. He is delighted to give them to us. Daniel 7.22 and 27 and Luke 12 verse 32. Now, I wanted to read that to just give a tiny impression of the way in which Jesus rules the nations right now. And by virtue of our union with Christ, as those who are seated with Him in the heavenlies, how we too can reign with Him, even when everything in this life looks so messed up. And so let's end the sermon by praising and adoring the Holy Trinity. for putting Jesus on the throne of David and beginning the fulfillment of the marvelous, marvelous promises that he made to David. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that though the nation's rage, though the people's plot a vain thing against you, that it is vain. And we know it is vain because you have established your son on your holy hill of Zion. You have told Jesus, ask of me. And I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. And we come into agreement with Jesus and asking for the nations for the gospel. We ask that you would cause them to kiss the sun. We stand in awe that you subdued our own stubborn, rebellious hearts under the feet of King Jesus. And it is our desire to see others coming under his glorious reign as well. Please help us to be effective in evangelism so that more could become members of your kingdom. Oh, the wonder of having been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of your dear son. Oh, the wonder of how you cause all things to work together for your own glory. We stand in awe that you even cause the wrath of man to praise you. And we look forward with great anticipation to worshiping and serving you and your kingdom through all eternity. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Well, there's a sense in which we've already concluded the sermon, but I do want to read a poem written by Charles Spurgeon, which I think captures a little bit of the wonder and the awe that David felt in 2 Samuel 7. I think as well some of the actors in Luke 1 through 2. And the beauty of this poem is that it ties these three points together. So this is going to be the true conclusion To the sermon and I know this is the third time I've read this poem to you guys, but I just love it I'm probably gonna read it more times in the future. I think it bears rereading from Charles Spurgeon Fourth to the battle rides our king. He climbs the conquering car. He fits his arrows to the string and hurls his bolts afar. Convictions pierce the stoutest hearts. They smart, they bleed, they die. Slain by Emmanuel's well-aimed darts, in helpless heaps they lie. Behold, he bears his two-edged sword and deals almighty blows. His all-revealing, killing word twixt joints and marrow goes. Who can resist him in the fight? He cuts through coats of mail. Before the terror of his might, the hearts of rebels fail. Anon, arrayed in robes of grace, he rides the trampled plane with pity beaming in his face and mercy in his train. Mighty to save, he now appears. Mighty to raise the dead. Mighty to staunch the bleeding wound and lift the fallen head. Victor alike in love and arms, myriads around him bend. Each captive owns his matchless charms. Each foe becomes his friend. They crown him on the battlefield. They press to kiss his feet. their hands, their hearts, their all they yield. His conquest is complete. None love him more than those he slew. His love their hate has slain. Henceforth their souls are all on fire to spread his gentle reign.